Sunday, August 22, 2010

August 21, 2010 First ever triathlon- sort of

I was actually on a team- so I really can't completely count it as my first ever triathlon. (I still need to complete all 3 legs before I can claim that.) My workplace, KORT, was a sponsor and I was more than too happy to help. Two of my coworkers and I made up our team, Girls Gone Wild. It was the Inaugural MAC (Meade Activity Center) Mini-sprint Triathlon (350 meter swim, 8 mile bike, and 2.2 mile run). I got to complete the run- yeah! I'd still be swimming if I had to do that part! Thanks to Mother Nature, there was about an 1 1/2 hours delay before we officially began. Finally the lightning subsided, but not the rain and we were off. I watched my swimmer, Nikki, take the pool. Boy was I glad I didn't have to strip down to my bathing suit in the cool morning rain and swim in front of everyone (our team number was 19-so alot of spectators still). When she tagged Dany, our biker, I went to the bathroom. Figured that might be important before running. Anyhow, back at the transition area, I waited for Dany to come wheeling in and talked to several other team members. Here she comes. We slapped hands and I was off up the hill. Running uphill right off the bat is always kind of cruel, but it could be worse- it could be running uphill at the end. I get almost to the top and I remember I didn't set my watch. Dang- I wasn't hoping to see if my time was better than a previous training run. Oh well. The bike and run course overlapped, so it was nice to chat with the riders as they went zooming past. All were smiling, well except the serious competitors- they were focused. Not me though. I don't think I have a serious bone in my body. I felt good, felt strong, and before long it was over with. We all stood around chatting and unfortunately, witnessed the one catastrophe of the day- a biker and runner colliding. Thankfully, the ambulance was there and tended to them quickly and the organizers let us know that they had received work that all were well.
For a first time event, it went pretty smooth- with maybe a few changes needed. The volunteers were great and I think that all seemed to have a great time. Kudos to my coworker, Meg King, who was the race director of the event. She did an awesome job, espeically since the participants were double what was expected. Congrats to my other co-worker, Kim Devries, who finished 3rd place in the women. Also, hope all that wiped out on their bikes (Dr. King and Dr. Honaker) at the turnaround are not too sore.
Still waiting for results to see how we finished.